Direct social contacts override auditory information in the song-learning process in starlings (Sturnus vulgaris)

Social influence on song acquisition was studied in 3 groups of young European starlings raised under different social conditions but with the same auditory experience of adult song. Attentional focusing on preferred partners appears the most likely explanation for differences found in song acquisition in relation to experience, sex, and song categories. Thus, pair-isolated birds learned from each other and not from broadcast live songs, females did not learn from the adult male tutors, and sharing occurred more between socially associated peers. On the contrary, single-isolated birds clearly copied the adult songs that may have been the only source of attention stimulation. Therefore, social preference appears as both a motor for song learning and a potential obstacle for acquisition from nonpreferred partners, including adults.